


Reset

by echoflowertea



Series: Living [16]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Reader Is Not Frisk, reader is female
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 13:11:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7223608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans had a lot of fears. This was one of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reset

**Author's Note:**

> i update this series **tuesdays and fridays**!
> 
> so. this one is a little cliche, considering it touches on a subject that probably every single fucking sans writer has ever done EVER. but. i go into a little more technicalities and wanted to do a flashback sequence, so uh, there ya go, kids.
> 
> if you haven't already, check out the prequel to this series, [**humble beginnings**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6538750/chapters/14959207)! it really extrapolates on some of the things i mention here.
> 
> p.s. because this is a sans-centric chapter, papyrus' will be out on tuesday!!!

Sans was at the sentry station.

Snow fell all around him from the looming trees. The wind howled through the forest and bit at everything it swept past. His jacket was worn and frayed with overuse, but warm enough that he was just comfortable enough not to shiver.

Why was he back here?

He wracked his brain. He’d come home from a long day at work. The auto shop he worked at was particularly busy, enough that he couldn’t spare five minutes to see you. It pissed him off enough that he was particularly short with the guys closing, and promised himself he would apologize tomorrow. When he got home he stuffed his face and fell asleep as soon as he flopped on his bed.

“SANS, ARE YOU NAPPING ON YOUR SHIFT AGAIN?”

He glanced at his brother. Standing tall and confident as always. Battle body on, the gloves and torso still impeccable. They looked brand new. That wasn’t right. Papyrus had worn them so often that they had to get two more outfits made. Something just as flashy but able to withstand the very real threat of nasty humans who tried to hurt him.

“NO MATTER. I WORKED HARD ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US. BUT DO NOT THINK THAT YOU WILL SLACK OFF TOMORROW! NOW LET’S GO HOME AND HAVE DINNER.”

Sans jumped down from his seat and followed Papyrus, not bothering to ask him what was going on. The lurching in his stomach and the dizzy spell that swallowed him up said it all. This was what he’d been dreading. The experience that he knew would break him if it ever happened.

He was Underground. The anomaly had finally reset.

His chest ached when they finally reached their home. The quaint little place that he’d come to love. The mailboxes were still the same as he remembered them. One for him and one for his brother. One impeccably clean and the other stuffed to the brim with junk mail. He lingered on the doorstep for a second before he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Hey, Papyrus! Hi, Sans!”

“HELLO!!!” Papyrus broke away from his determined path toward the front door and turned heel. “HOW ARE YOU TODAY?”

“Good, thanks. I’m just starting my shift.” You gestured to the huge bag of books strapped on your shoulder. “I got a new shipment of books from the castle. You should look and see if anything catches your eye.”

“IS THERE SOMETHING PASTA RELATED? PERHAPS A SPAGHETTI MEMOIR?”

“I wish. That sounds really cool.” You sighed. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT! SANS, DON’T BE RUDE. SAY GOODBYE,” Papyrus hissed, nudging his brother with a sharp jab of his elbow.

Sans gazed at you longingly. “uh. see ya around, pal.”

He sat on the couch for hours. Papyrus came in and out of the house, babbling on about things that happened during the day. After a while his brother holed himself up in his room, probably rearranging his action figures and surfing Undernet. The TV was on as background noise, but Sans barely paid attention to the excited voice of Mettaton performing at least seven different roles in a musical he wrote himself.

He’d always expected this on a subconscious level. It hadn’t happened before, but that stupid fucking flower had reset enough times for him to get somewhat comfortable with it. But determination was the bane of his existence. A double-edged sword. With it, he was able to walk on the surface and spend the rest of his life with the woman he loved. But it also gave whoever held the most the power to completely rearrange time and space with zero thoughts about repercussions.

He wanted to see you. He wanted to at least have the comfort of your company.

So he forced himself out the front door and walked down the eerily familiar path to the library.

You were away from the counter, probably rearranging the books according to the system they had in place. Things had gotten really popular since Toriel…err, the Queen had gone and donated a vast amount in exchange for their own supply. Now monsters in Snowdin had something to look forward to every day. And with a lot of monsters scouring the dump for valuable salvage, new ones were found and distributed more frequently than ever.

There you were. Looking…too good.

He swallowed and his mouth went dry. You were bundled up in a shapeless sweater and your hair was in disarray from the wind outside, but he’d never felt more attracted. It was getting hard to tear his eyes off you, so he ran his fingers along the row of spines and made his way toward you.

His shoulder brushed up against your back and he watched you flinch. Actually, physically recoil. Right. Back then, you weren’t very good about dealing with touch.

“whoops. sorry.”

“You’re fine,” you lied, trying to save him the embarrassment of the truth. “I’m surprised to see you here. We usually only ever catch each other at Grillby’s.”

“uh. yeah.” He couldn’t stop staring, and he could tell it was making you uncomfortable. “you, uh…wanna stop by for dinner? on your break?”

You took a step back. “Um. I have to go to the capital after work. I just got word that Her Majesty wants to see me.”

Oh. “didn’t know you were that important. royalty promotes librarbians now?”

“Very funny. Can I help you find something?”

A witty pickup line lingered on his tongue, but he knew he’d already made it weird. He didn’t want to ruin things this time around. “nah. just browsin’. and hey. good luck with your meeting, i’m sure it’ll be fine.”

You laughed awkwardly. “Thanks.”

You went back to working and Sans just…stood there for a few seconds. Upset at how things were. He knew that you wouldn’t remember anything about this, but it still hurt. Six years down the drain. A hundred kisses and months of buildup that he’d been agonizing over wasted. Nothing but memories that would fade over time and an inability to go back to the way things were.

How could he start over? He trudged through the snow and headed around town, putting his hood up so he could have some privacy. His usual grin had been drooping into a grimace since his initial realization outside of Snowdin, and he didn’t want anyone commenting on it. He was Sans. Popular with monsters all over town and renowned for his incredible puns and happy-go-lucky, laissez-faire attitude. He was definitely not some brooding skeleton that found himself out by the edge of the water behind the neighborhood houses.

You came out here together once. You were still incredibly new at your position as Toriel’s assistant and had stopped by to pick up the rest of your things. But you took a few minutes to spare to ask him questions about any concerns he wanted you to bring up to the somewhat new leader of Underground.

It wasn’t romantic at all. Not then. But now? He would’ve done a thousand things differently.

He’d have to re-experience everything again. The pain of wondering if his fate would be sealed down here forever. Worry for his brother as he settled back into his position as Royal Guard. Sleepless nights as you worked tirelessly to destroy the barrier. That moment when he stepped out into the sunlight and watched the beams caress your hair and face, the wind pushing your locks away and him wondering briefly how it would feel in his hands. Pining for weeks, months, _years_ as you successfully overlooked every ounce of effort he made to put his feelings on the line. Watching you blossom with the confidence to kiss him in Grillby’s new place, your flushed face and eyes trained on him as the entire bar cheered you on.

He wasn’t sure he could do it. Not like this. Maybe if he was further along. But this was just the beginning and this pill was too bitter to swallow.

The lump in his throat grew and his vision blurred. Shoulders began to quake. Fuck. _Fuck. **FUCK.**_ ****

Time passed.

Sans heard from word of mouth that you’d been promoted by Toriel to her personal assistant. You moved to the capital as soon as possible. You had your conversation by the river. He was too cowardly to give anything but a few weak puns. You didn’t seem to notice.

Papyrus lamented the loss of the new resident. You two had been getting to know each other, and his brother was ecstatic to know that humans were so different from each other.

Weeks went by. Months. The calendar pages just kept falling off, the red x’s over each passing day a stab in the gut.

A human child fell. Then another.

His brother was promoted to Head of the Royal Guard. You’d asked Toriel to reconsider his position and band monsters together to form a coalition. To make sure that any more humans would be found and rescued instead of letting them traverse through unfamiliar territory on their own.

“BROTHER, TODAY WE ARE GOING TO MY INDUCTION CEREMONY. DO NOT FORGET!!!”

He followed Papyrus to the capital and sat in the throne room. Papyrus was given his own special uniform to wear while he was on the job. He found himself beaming through the discomfort. The entire time he just kept glancing over at you. You were seated next to Toriel, the two of you whispering and laughing with each other.

When the pomp and circumstance was over, he came up with some half-assed excuse to come up and talk with you.

“heya, tori. how’s life with the crown?”

She scowled at him. “It is…complicated. I would not wish this on anyone. But I am managing.”

“Says the woman who singlehandedly united an entire nation to accept my kind despite how awful we’ve been.” You smiled at her warmly. Sans would give anything for you to direct it at him instead. “Thanks for coming, Sans. Papyrus was so excited about this. I told him you would, but he was worried you might forget.”

“He said you have been very spacey lately,” Toriel added. “Are you feeling alright?”

“just peachy keen, queen.”

“Do not call me that.”

“She’s just being modest. She loves it. It’s her favorite title.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No.”

“Oh, okay. You’d prefer ‘Her Royal and Merciful Majesty, Toriel Dreemurr the Kind’?”

Sans laughed at that one. He could just _feel_ his pupils changing shape and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Toriel shot him a strange look, but he pretended not to notice. He was failing miserably at this lowkey stuff.

The rest of the party was in full swing. You were busy answering a bunch of questions from monsters and making your rounds, albeit begrudgingly. These mixers were never your type of thing. Sans found himself lurking along nearly every corner just to catch a glimpse of you. He leaned against pillars with his hands in his pockets. He slipped through the crowd and pretended to have just passed by. And he even showed up during random stories that the others told that had you so enraptured.

He wanted to do things the way it was before. When he could grip your hand in his own and feel alive. When he could hit on you in full view of everyone just to see the shift in your usually placid expression.

“Sans, a word?”

Toriel managed to corner him. Things were winding down. He felt his chipper mood ebb away. She led him away from the rest of the guests to a somewhat secluded corner.

“You are not acting like yourself. I do not appreciate what you are doing.”

“don’t know whatcha mean, tori.”

“You….” She searched for the right word. “You are being very forward.” She gestured to his figure. “Your SOUL is practically singing her name. She is lucky she does not have the capability to decipher it.”

Well, that was fucking embarrassing. “nah. you must be seein’ things.”

“I am not. I am not sure what is going through your head, but this has to stop. She is still very new to everything here. And she is the best hope we have for things to finally right themselves.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. It was mortifying just looking at her. “look, whatever you think i’m doin’…”

“Sans. She is my friend and she is very important to me.”

There was something icy in her tone. Enough that he was familiar with it, and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “wait a sec. are…you n’ her…”

“Yes.”

His smile faded.

“I do not consider myself the jealous type. Normally I would not police others about something like this. But whatever notions you have must stop. She has already expressed to me that she isn’t sure how to act around you because of how you are hovering. You are making her uncomfortable.”

He felt sick.

“If you cannot control yourself, then perhaps you should leave.”

He did.

He wandered around outside and could barely hold himself together. His chest ached. His body was going to fall apart on him and there was nothing he could do. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. It was all wrong. It didn’t make sense. Had he really changed so much already that he’d ruined his chances to give it a second go? When would the next reset be? What if it never happened? And he was stuck living with this mistake forever? What if down the line he was attending your wedding instead? And he was back where he started, alone, barely keeping it together day by day, drifting in and out of life instead of actually living it?

Sans jolted awake.

His pillow was wet. He sat up and reached for his phone to light his room up. This wasn’t his place Underground. From his window he could see his favorite tree swaying in the breeze, the leaves atop the branches crinkling in the moonlight. They’d already turned colors to reflect the shifting seasons. He could hear the distant laughter of his neighbors down the street as they barbecued something and clinked their glasses together, the clouds floating along lazily in the pitch black sky.

He still felt nauseous. His thumb hovered over the contact picture. Against his better judgment, he tapped the call button.

It was 3 A.M.

You groaned and rolled over, the ringtone grating against your ears. What the fuck? It was not time to get up already. You shifted in your thick layer of blankets and swiped the touchscreen in an effort to turn it off, thinking you’d set up a false alarm (literally).

“hey.”

Sans? You put the receiver to your ear and rubbed at your eyes, voice hoarse from disuse. “Mmmyeah? What is it?”

“sorry i woke ya.”

“It’s okay.” It kind of wasn’t, but he sounded off. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

There was a long moment of silence. “you ever, uh…have nightmares?”

“Of course I do.” You understood what he was getting at. “What was it about?”

“we were back underground.”

Yikes. Definitely a sore subject. You were much more awake than you were about five minutes ago. “Trapped?”

“yeah.” His words wavered just the slightest. “i thought things…i could remember everything, but you couldn’t. no one else did. just me. and we weren’t together.”

This didn’t sound like a conversation you needed to have over the phone. You sat up more fully and took a long breath in. “Do you want me to come over?”

“nah. don’t wanna wake papyrus up, y’know?” He didn’t sound like himself. His voice was far away. Almost as if he was still having trouble recognizing that what happened wasn’t reality. The remnants of his experience lingering just enough for him to let out a shaky laugh.

“You should come over here, then.”

“you sure?”

“Mmhmm. You got your key?”

“sure do.”

You didn’t bother getting dressed. You just went to wash your face and brush your teeth to make yourself look less offensive. Plus, you weren’t sure how long you were going to be awake for. Sans would let himself in, but you flicked the lights on in the living room so he would make it to your room without any problems.

It took him about five minutes to show up at your door. You heard the key turn in the lock and his heavy steps as he dragged himself in. He must’ve been really out of it. You lingered in your bedroom doorway to greet him, thinking that maybe he would put on a show just to reassure you that things were okay, but he didn’t. He grimaced as soon as he rounded the corner and went straight for you, kicking his shoes off as he went.

You offered him an embrace once he was within arm’s reach. He took it gladly, burying his face in your chest with a strangled laugh. He was vulnerable right now, and you weren’t sure what to do to ease his reservations. You’d been able to do this with him before, but with the tables turned, it was sure to be an…enlightening experience.

You separated as soon as you got uncomfortable and he ambled over to your bed. Sitting on the edge of it and staring at the wall like it’d personally wronged him. You bit your lip and took your place next to him, hand resting on his, rubbing your thumb over the quivering digits that rested on the mattress.

“What happened?”

“i was in snowdin. you were still workin’ at the library. toriel called you to promote you to her assistant.”

“Sounds about right.”

“but it just kept goin’.” His grip tightened on the comforter. “i relived it all. you goin’ off to the capital. papyrus getting his position in the guard.”

Wow. That was…quite the gap. It had taken you at least a year to convince Toriel to give him a chance. And he experienced all of that in a matter of hours? No wonder he was so shaken.

“showed up to my bro’s ceremony.”

You’d forgotten all about it. Undyne threw a huge party in honor of his promotion and his new rank. It was a long, crazy night. You learned a lot about monster culture through trial and error. You tried to make yourself look busy by taking meaningless notes and wandering around the place to dodge questions, but you got roped into conversations anyway. It was how you met Alphys.

“tori got pissed off at me. said i was bein’…inappropriate. i couldn’t stop following you around. trying to get close to ya.”

He didn’t say anything after that. You pushed on. “Then you woke up?”

“nah.” He let out a weak chuckle. “she basically said you two were together.”

Wait. What? “As in…like…romantically?”

“yeah.”

You burst into laughter. You knew it was fucked up for you to do, but that was the most ridiculous thing you’d ever heard. Sans knew how silly it sounded now, but experiencing it in the moment of his dreamworld was a whole different story. The fact that it had affected him so much was both flattering and adorable in equal measure.

“i know it’s stupid.”

“I mean, it’s weird, no doubt about that.” You leaned closer and rested your head on his shoulder, having to slump to do so. “If it makes you feel any better, that would never fucking happen.”

“i know. she’s outta your league.”

“Exac—hey!”

You put your full weight on him. He let out a grunt in protest and the two of you fell backwards onto the bed, bodies close enough to exchange warmth. He still wouldn’t meet your eyes, opting to stare upward at the ceiling. Probably mulling over everything. Lingering on what happened in the dream, scrutinizing every detail and regretting his actions. You didn’t want him to waste any more energy on it.

“sometimes i wonder if i’ll just reset.”

“What do you mean?”

“i…” He glanced at you briefly. “i toldja about that fuckin’ flower. the one that would just…kill monsters for fun. when they slaughtered everyone, i stopped them by showin’ them a bad time. giving them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Yeah. And that they had enough determination that they could reset the timeline.”

“right. and when they did that…they just wiped the slate clean.”

He’d never explained this in such detail before. “So you don’t have memories about the timelines?”

“nah. just a vague feeling, like deja vu. you feel like you’ve done things before. then you realize it’s not just a feeling, that this thing…this anomaly…is manipulating time and space. not like me. they can reverse decisions, start over. SAVE. leave and come back. RELOAD when they’re ready. that’s the power of determination that you never saw.”

You weren’t going to lie to him, not when it sent a heavy shudder down your spine. “That sounds terrifying.”

He sighed. He was so weary. “you’ve never tried to do it, since no one’s ever attacked you. maybe you can.”

Never in a fucking million years. “I’m not sure I’d want to. Does that mean that there are…parallel universes?”

“uh…”

“I mean, think about it. If that kid…Frisk? Went back and corrected things, then there are universes where they don’t. Like…you said that they managed to get away from Undyne, right? I find that hard to believe it happened all in one take. So they…reload their SAVE. Over and over again. Except the timeline they reset is always from a certain point. You experienced something entirely different than a timeline where Frisk failed. Maybe they died at Undyne and she took their SOUL and the monsters were freed that way. Just because you didn’t see it in this timeline doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Somewhere.”

He got a contemplative look on his face. “so what you’re sayin’ is…somewhere, in another timeline, we never met.”

“Oh. Maybe. I…am not very good at this comforting thing, am I?”

“nah, it’s…” He laughed. “it’s reassuring. to know that all these things could’ve happened. that our lives could’ve gone in a thousand different ways. but in this timeline, i got to be with you.”

You planted a warm kiss on his mouth. “Wow, I sure am lucky I fell for the romantic Sans.”

“eat your heart out.”

You talked for another half hour or so. Sans went into more detail about the things that he remembered. How he had hazy memories of life before Frisk. How things melded together because the flower just kept playing with everybody in all of the twisted ways they could. How they went toe-to-root for what felt like an eternity. How he would try his best to write down everything he could so that he wouldn’t forget, but it never mattered because he would never know when the timeline would jump back to a time where he hadn’t even gotten the chance to preserve his knowledge.

By the end of it, you were both side by side on your bed. Completely engulfed in a soft conversation that had him more relaxed than ever. He had your hand in his and you snuggled up to him, his labored breaths finally evening out to something much more befitting his usual attitude.

“Sans?”

“hmm.”

“You should just sleep here. With me.”

His eyes snapped open and he glanced at you. “yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m really tired and it’s a bed, right? So…we have at least a couple of hours before you have to get up. I say we doze off.”

This was probably one in a handful of times you’d seen him so flustered. Sweat already formed at his brow and he coughed. “you’re uh…heh…okay with me? in your bed?”

“You’re already in my bed, dork.” You rolled over just enough to plant a few kisses down his cheek and neck. “I mean, if you don’t want to, the couch is fine. I just thought it would be more comfortable. And you’re really warm, so…”

He stopped you by reaching up to grip your wrist. His eyesockets crinkled. “so you’re usin’ me for my high body temperature, huh?”

“Something like that. Is that a problem, Sansy? You can even use me as a pillow.”

Sans reached down and grabbed your lovehandles for emphasis, testing the weight in his palms. You squawked in surprise, which sent him into a quiet fit of laughter. “heh, you are soft enough. let’s uh…let’s do it, then.”

You lifted the covers up so he could join you. He looked like it was going to explode. You wondered if he was just nervous because he’d never done this with anyone, or if he was just feeling a little pressured. You really didn’t want it to be the latter.

“Listen, I don’t want to force you.”

“i want this.”

“I mean, it’s nice. Being together.”

“uh huh.”

You turned your back to him and faced the wall. “I’ll wake you up if I manage to get up before you do, okay?”

“ok.”

“Sans.”

“ok.”

You weren’t as uncomfortable as you thought you would be. Settling onto the cool mattress with a super hot skeleton in your bed? That sounded like a good time. Something was missing, though.

“Hey, is my starfish over there?”

“you mean this stuffed one?”

“Yeah, can I have it?”

“here ya go.”

“Thanks.” You wrapped your arms around it and sighed contently, letting your exhaustion take over as the quiet breaths of your partner lulled you to sleep.

Your alarm went off and you shut it down grumpily.

“Sans,” you muttered, stretching your legs. You brushed up against him. He was still in bed. “We gotta get up.”

You heard him continue to snooze. What a dork. You shifted your body and sighed. You hadn’t faced him yet, but had your face buried in your pillow.

“Let’s go, Sansy. We don’t wanna be late for work.”

You snuggled deeper into the blankets despite your own protests. Sans was still asleep. With a huff of indignation, you finally roused yourself just enough to turn toward him. He had his body angled toward you and a lazy grin on his face, pinpricks of light alive and well.

“You dick. You were up this whole time?” You moved into him and poked him in the ribs, earning a surprised grunt on his end. “You could’ve just said something.”

“was havin’ a good time. thought i would catch ya snoring, but you don’t. farted a couple of times, though.”

“Oh my GOD. Shut up. I did not.” You took your starfish and threw it at him, stifling his laughter. “Did you just watch me the whole time like a total creep?”

“heh, no. got up a little while ago.”

“Bad dream?”

He reached up to stroke your cheek with his fingers, gentle in the way he traced every curve of your face. “nah. guess you’re my good luck charm.”

You gazed at him from underneath the blankets. “Thanks for humoring me. I never had anyone to do this sort of thing with. I’m glad it was you.”

“any time. uh, if you’re ok with it.”

“Yeah. I’m down.”

You stared at him for a moment and moved in even closer. He accepted the gesture with open arms – literally. You wrapped yourself around him and rested your cheek on his chest. You could hear the soft hum of his magic just underneath his shirt, the sound so faint and unrecognizable.

“It’s not bothering you, is it?”

“heh. not at all. you uh…ok there?”

“Yeah. I just…your SOUL is warm.”

“so is yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> like my fics? want to support me? **[consider donating](https://ko-fi.com/A258IM)**!
> 
> **please leave me a comment!!! i cherish each & every one!**
> 
> **question of the day** : what personalized ringtone would you use when the skelebros call you?


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